Ferm Chamber

[armymedic942]

Does anybody know how to bypass the thermostat on a window air conditioner? I use one for the cooling in my fermentation chamber. It is connected to a dual stage controller, but the thermostat on the unit itself only goes down to 70 F, and cuts out before it cools the chamber to my desired temp.
I know that there is a risk of the coil icing, but I assume the dual stage controller mitigates that.

 

[estricklin]

Remove the front grille of the window unit, you should see a "probe" connected to the evaporator coil. You need to get this away from the evaporator so the thermostat will not shut the compressor off. It may be clipped on somehow or held on with a piece of plastic. Even pulling it away an inch could do the trick.

 

[bho]

There is a clever device available that as a small hearted probe to the sensor on the air conditioner and keeps the device running into refrigeration temperatures.

 

[armymedic942]

I believe you are talking about this:
http://www.storeitcold.com/index.html
I'm not ready to drop another 300 bones on my ferm chamber just yet.
I have been getting a lot of help from n240sxguy in his build thread here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-semi-walkin-5000-btu-fermentation-chamber-421854/

 

[bho]

Yes the coolbot. I'm working on a fermentation build as well. 7.2 ft chest freezer and stc 1000 controller. Good luck

 

[PLOVE]

On my A/C unit I just removed the copper thermoprobe and tied the leads together (shorted them). This effectively tells the A/C that it's not cold enough and it will run forever. You can then your external controller to turn the whole unit on/off when you want cold.